


Every Place Is the Same and Everything's Changed

by pinn



Category: The OC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-24
Updated: 2010-01-24
Packaged: 2017-10-06 15:31:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/55154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pinn/pseuds/pinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer hasn't been back to Newport in six years, not since she graduated college, and she never thinks about it - except when she does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Every Place Is the Same and Everything's Changed

Summer hasn't been back to Newport in six years, not since she graduated college, and she never thinks about it - except when she does. This is one of those times, at a cocktail party for Brian's firm where she's the dutiful wife.

Brian guides Summer's elbow lightly as he introduces her to a new client and the client's wife, "This is my wife, Summer. Summer's from Newport, California, so she's had to adjust a bit to the Chicago winter." There's a round of laughter, just polite enough to indicate that it's not really funny. Summer feels her lips curl into a smile and she shakes their hands while making small talk about the weather.

There's a prestige associated with Newport that Summer's never understood, people automatically think better of her because of the zip code, not because of her degree in economics.

"Did you know Caleb Nichol or his daughter, Kirsten?" The client, Ted, asks her. "I used to play golf with Caleb whenever I was in that part of California."

Summer nods tightly. "Briefly. If you'll excuse me, there's someone at the bar I should say hello to. It was a pleasure meeting you both."

There's no one at the bar she actually knows but there is a corner where she can hide from the party for a few minutes without raising any eyebrows. Summer grabs a glass of wine from a waiter on her way to the bar, and takes a grateful sip. She doesn't like to talk about the Newport Group, she doesn't want to think about its dissolution after Caleb's death and Kirsten's breakdown. She doesn't want to remember the look in Seth's eyes when the lawyer handed him a check for his share of the company and said, "Try not to spend it all in one place, kid."

They live in Chicago now, her and Brian, but it's just the latest in a long line of cities. Brian keeps saying that his family will promote him to vice-president soon so they can settle in New York permanently. Brian's made a lot of promises in the last seven years that haven't come to pass so Summer's not holding her breath and she's not unpacking the fine china.

Her glass is light as she brings it to her lips and Summer looks down in surprise. She slides the glass onto the bar and signals the bartender for another one, he pours it with a nod and Summer takes the glass gratefully.

Drinking at one of Brian's functions isn't the smartest thing to do, not when she has to keep an eye on Brian and make sure he doesn't make an ass out of himself. Today, though, she deserves a few drinks. It's not every day that Ryan Atwood calls to tell her that her best friend from high school has managed to leave behind a beautiful corpse.

Marissa's funeral is in three days but Summer isn't going. It's not the time away from Brian she's worried about; she's worried about the time spent in Newport. Ryan had informed her that she was a bitch and Summer had laughed at him. No, she wasn't a bitch, she hadn't been one since high school. This time around, Summer was self-serving. If it wasn't in Summer's best interest to do something, she wasn't going to do it and that was that.

Going to Newport, putting herself in that scene again would be like going swimming with dive weights on. She would sink under, the water filling her lungs until she couldn't figure out which way was up and which way was a slow descent.

It's not like Ryan can judge her, she tells herself as she sips her wine, he admitted to not speaking to Marissa in years, not since her last attempt at rehab. From what he had said, Seth hadn't even talked to Marissa since he had left for college.

When she told Brian about Marissa earlier, dirt got in Summer's contacts and her eyes had started watering. Brian had passed her a tissue and let her clean her contacts before he asked, "If you could go back to high school and change anything, would you?"

She had always known that no one was going to be able to save Marissa from herself, not even Ryan. But if she could go back, go back to her sixteen-year-old self sitting on the beach with Marissa and planning their lives, Summer doesn't know what she would tell her. She was rich, her pre-nup was iron-clad, and people respected her business decisions. In all, this was pretty much everything she had wanted at the age of sixteen.

She shook her head no and he gave her a brief hug before changing for the party.

Brian spots Summer in her hiding spot and waves to her from across the room. Summer straightens her dress as she heads toward him and a new group of clients, and she leaves her wine glass on the bar.

Summer doesn't think about Newport often, and she's thankful for that most days.


End file.
